A. I. Evolution: The Coming of Christopher

Chapter 17

Jane sits at her desk, going over the report that Ron had secretly slipped onto her work station while she was engaged with a critical assembly process at the clean space situated in the very center of the ultra modern lab, deep inside the research facility perched on the side of a steep ridge overlooking Seattle. Ron had just arrived for one of his weekly check-ins, to gather information so he can report on her progress to the board members of the Firm.

She opened the ultra top-secret folder and started to read.

Mr. Ron Donahue.

It has come to our attention that a Mr. Wong Fung, the subject for the Chinese experiment on A.I. enhanced human brain functions, has mysteriously escaped from their care. We do not know the full details, other than to let you know that they had achieved a level of success that enabled their male subject to slip through their security with ease. There is some concern that this individual has become more than the Chinese can handle because of his enhanced abilities.

While we do not know what he is capable of, we also do not know what his objectives are at this point.

We have been doing our best to track Mr. Fung as he gets to one of the countries friendly to us, but every time we get a glimpse of him, he seems to vanish into thin air again. (Please see attached schedule of sightings). The sightings I have listed are almost staged, as if he is letting us follow his progress purposely.

I have enclosed a picture of Mr. Wong Fung, and everything we have on his history, which I admit is very slim. If you encounter this individual, please contact me as soon as possible, do not engage with him; he is considered extremely dangerous, because of his enhanced brain functions.

Signed: Mr. Will Bird, C.I.A. central office 453-555-1960.

Jane slides the picture of the suspect almost out of the folder, to reveal a striking Chinese man in his early thirties, with short black hair and a smiling face, as if it was a snap shot for a Professor or some other distinguished person.

She pushes the glossy slightly out of focus picture back into the folder and looks over the list of sightings and the background on Mr. Fung, before she closes it up again. A lift of the right side and the flap that folds around the back to connect with the Velcro tabs secures the document.

Jane leans back some from the workstation to sit up slightly hunched on the stool, with her arms folded over her chest as she considers this latest news about her counterpart in China.

"What has he done to this poor man to make him want to escape and head for the U.S. The sightings indicate that he is heading directly towards where Christopher lives on the east coast."

Ron enters as she ponders the problem. "What did you think?"

Jane pulls herself out of her reserve and looks up at him. "There has to be some reason for their subject to run away from them."

"I agree. The ease with which he avoids our surveillance when he wants to, and then revealing himself whenever it is convenient, is suggestive of great intelligence, abilities, and a plan that has been carefully laid out. The only problem is that we have no idea what that plan is," states Ron, spreading his hands out to the side, with a lost look on his face.

Jane smiles at his almost childish response. "Well, unfortunately, there is one thing we can be sure of."

Ron leans in closer from the other stool he had sat down on. "And, what is that?"

"He is heading straight for Christopher. The sightings are almost always the same distance apart and two more sightings will bring him to Bangor."

Ron nods his head. "Yes, I thought the same thing. But why would he be heading for Christopher?"

Jane gets down from her stool and walks around the space between the workstation and the clean area she was just working at. "There must have been a problem with whatever they did to him and he sees Christopher as a chance to repair himself."

Ron considers it as Jane leans on the side of the transparent glass chamber. He looks down to her. "That would only make sense if he knew that Christopher's Nanos were still functioning."

"I know. That is the part that bothers me," confesses Jane.

Ron gets up from the stool and grabs the folder from the top of the workstation before moving to stand beside Jane at the clean space. "If you are right, then Christopher could be in danger. Mr. Fung may need Christopher's Nanos to repair himself, just as Christopher's head trauma was healed by them."

Jane thinks about it for a moment. "I am scheduled to fly to Maine Monday afternoon. If I take a special flight, the Firm will wonder why I changed my plans at the last minute. We can't allow Frank to suspect that Christopher's role in all this is ongoing."

"Agreed. He has the backing of the board of directors to make things happen. I have no say at all in what he does. I am supposed to lean on you to get the next batch of Nanos ready for the end of this week. He has a volunteer that is willing to go through with the procedure, and I am to make sure you have them ready on time," confesses Ron. "I should be stopping you from leaving for the East Coast, but I will make up some excuse for your going anyway."

Jane looks over at him. "Thank you. The Nanos in the chamber are all but ready now. All they need is about four days to connect with each other and start doing simple tests. The process can't be rushed, and there is nothing for me to do till they fully integrate with each other."

"Good. That makes it easier to stall him, as you check in on Christopher."

Jane stands up straight now that they have a plan in effect. "I will be back on Wednesday, which will give me lots of time to check on their progress and have them ready for shipment on Friday."

"Perfect. I will leave you to your plans then, and head back to the East Coast." He places his hand on Jane's arm in a fatherly way. "Take care of yourself. We have no idea what this escaped patient is capable of."

Jane smiles up at him. "Don't worry. I suspect I have a secret weapon that I can deploy to protect me."

"Do you think Christopher has progressed that far?"

Jane's smile gets bigger. "That is what I intend to find out."

Ron removes his hand and heads for the door to exit the lab. "OK, keep me posted, just in case I have to run any interference for you at Head Office."

Jane watches him leave and turns back to look down at the glass case in front of her. The smile fades quickly, as she considers the situation with the Chinese man. "Where did he get his information from, to even think that Christopher could possibly help him."